October 2015
Current Issue: October 2015
Features
It’s easy for food entrepreneurs to get started — at farmers markets — but each step up gets tougher
Some companies who own patents but don't use them file malicious lawsuits
Trade you a chip for that stripeMost major credit cards are setting October 2015 as the deadline for the switch from a strip to a microchip — but will retailers be ready? The move to EMV aims to reduce credit card fraud, and many countries around the world have already jumped on the bandwagon.
Raz Bajwa is the founder, owner and president of IndusTrack, a Plymouth-based firm that sells tracking software for delivery and service truck fleets. His company, founded just a few years ago, is prospering.
Katie Clark Sieben
Katie Clark Sieben, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) shares the top trends in the Minnesota manufacturing industry.
In banking, numbers tell the story. If so, these numbers have the making of a tragedy: In 2000 there were 513 community banks in Minnesota. Now we have 332, a drop of 35% in just 15 years. What’s going on? There are two factors at play according to Joe Witt, president of the Minnesota Bankers Association.
Lobby area of the new Olympus headquarters building
Location, location, location” used to be the catch-phrase of real estate agents. When it comes to commercial real estate for manufacturers, however, “efficiency, efficiency, efficiency” is king.
Alander Rum Punch
More than five hours northwest of the Twin Cities, amid endless table-flat rye and canola fields, sits the aptly named Far North Spirits.
Features
Tina Rexing
It typically starts with a recipe, a streak of entrepreneurial spirit, and a dream. For some, the dream is financial independence; for others it is simply to make a living doing something they love.
Manufacturing is the backbone of Minnesota’s economy. When we add it up, manufacturing provides more than 292,000 jobs and contributes $37 billion to the state’s economy, according to the Department of Employment and Economic Development. Simply put, manufacturing makes a difference.
Perspectives
An improving economy. Lower unemployment rate. New jobs.
While many are optimistic about Minnesota’s future, the changing economy presents manufacturers with a new challenge: attracting and retaining a skilled workforce.
While many are optimistic about Minnesota’s future, the changing economy presents manufacturers with a new challenge: attracting and retaining a skilled workforce.
Perspectives
IDC Automatic: Jodi Boldenow, president and CEO with brother Jeremy Sizer
Manufacturing never has a slow season if you’re doing it right. When I spoke to several leaders in August, Minnesota manufacturers were cautiously optimistic about year-end revenue and growth.
Neverest Outfitters makes packs with a promise — a heritage promise, that is, to provide lifelong care for products that endure everyday wear-and-tear, a concept that is little more than vintage in the current disposable apparel industry. Co-founder Ian Scherber from Duluth, Minn.
Aaron Carlson Corp. has been a major player in the millwork industry for a long time. Established in 1891, the millwork company has passed through generations of Carlsons and was acquired by the Horners in 1994. President Jason Horner attributes the company’s success to its focus on high end mill work and quality output.